Enrollment
878
Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 240060001231
Margaret Brent Middle — Mechanicsville, MD
Federal NCES profile for Margaret Brent Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 Attendance 25
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: St. Mary'S County Public Schools · Maryland
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 14.4:1 Maryland avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.5%
vs 49.0% Maryland avg
-32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Margaret Brent Middle compares with Maryland and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Margaret Brent Middle reports 878 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the Maryland state mean of 14.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 11% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 32% below the Maryland average and 35% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 293 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 30.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Mary'S County Public Schools spends $17,616 per pupil district-wide, below the Maryland average of $22,498 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.1% from local sources (property taxes), 41.2% from the state, and 13.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Margaret Brent Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Maryland state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Maryland | Maryland avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.6:1 | ▲ 22% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.5% | ▼ 32% | 49.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 878 | top 82% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
33.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 32% below the Maryland average of 49.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.6:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 90% in Maryland — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
30.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,616
per pupil, district-wide
— below Maryland avg of $22,498
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 293 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 106 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 878 Top 82% in Maryland — larger than 18% of 1,383 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 17.6:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.5% -32% vs state
NCES ID 240060001231
Student demographics
White 78.7%
African American 8.9%
Two or More 7.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.6%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 78.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 293:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 30.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 106
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Mary'S County Public Schools, which includes Margaret Brent Middle.
$17,616
Per student
-22%
vs Maryland
Avg $22,498
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 45.1%
State 41.2%
Federal 13.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,118
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,697
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,526
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 969
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 913
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Margaret Brent Middle
How many students attend Margaret Brent Middle?
Margaret Brent Middle has 878 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mechanicsville, MD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Margaret Brent Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Margaret Brent Middle is 17.6:1, which is 22% higher than the Maryland average of 14.4:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Margaret Brent Middle?
33.5% of students at Margaret Brent Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Margaret Brent Middle?
The largest demographic group at Margaret Brent Middle is White at 78.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mechanicsville, MD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Margaret Brent Middle?
Margaret Brent Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.